Tuesday, March 31

ROH: Der Fliegende Hollander

Tim Albery's acclaimed production is a darkly insightful account of Wagner's masterful early opera, The Flying Dutchman, starring Bryn Terfel conducted by Andris Nelsons.The Flying Dutchman has been cursed for eternity. Once every seven years he is allowed to come ashore to seek redemption. He may have found it in Senta, a woman who longs for escape from her dreary life. The performance lasts about 2 hours 30 minutes; there is no intermission.

La Sapienza

"The movie is an unapologetically rarefied undertaking and at the same time a gracious and inviting film. And it embodies an elegant and melancholy paradox: What looks like tourism is really the pursuit of truth and beauty, and vice versa." (A.O. Scott, NY Times)

La Sapienza echoes Rossellini's Viaggio in Italia in its tale of Alexandre Schmidt (Fabrizio Rongione), a brilliant architect who, plagued by doubts and loss of inspiration, embarks on a quest of artistic and spiritual renewal guided by his study of Borromini. His wife Aliénor (Christelle Prot), similarly troubled by the crassness of contemporary society, decides to accompany him. In Stresa, a chance encounter upends the couple's plans with a series of life-altering revelations.

3 Hearts

One night in provincial France, Marc (Benoît Poelvoorde) meets Sylvie (Charlotte Gainsbourg) after missing his train back to Paris. Instantly drawn to one another, they wander through the streets until morning. But when Sylvie reunites with her ex and leaves France, Marc falls in love and marries. What neither knows is that Marc’s new bride is Sylvie’s sister. Upon Sylvie’s return to France, the spark between her and Marc is reignited in ways that will forever alter the relationships between sister to sister and husband to wife.

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Now that the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the Elderly and Beautiful has only a single remaining vacancy, Sonny (Dev Patel) must figure out how to accommodate guests (including Richard Gere) as they arrive. His own imminent wedding and the blossom- ing relationships all around also raise a host of questions—and perhaps the only one who may know the answers is the new co-manager of the hotel, Muriel (Maggie Smith), the keeper of everyone's secrets.

Wild Tales

"Deserves to become a serious art-house hit in the U.S. thanks to its skill in deftly overcoming the form’s usual deficits, for a result that feels as amazingly cohesive as it is relentlessly clever and entertaining." (Godfrey Cheshire, RogerEbert.com)

Academy Award Nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. Six wickedly funny stories about ordinary people pushed over the thin line that divides civilization and barbarism.

Seymour: An Introduction

"In his calm defense of beauty, craftsmanship, intellectual curiosity and emotional connection as vital human needs, this is one artist who knows he doesn't have to raise his voice to speak volumes.: (Justin Chang, Variety)

Ethan Hawke's gentle, meditative film is a love letter to the study of music and the patience, concentration, and devotion that are fundamental to the practice of art. The film allows us to spend time with a generous human being who has found balance and harmony through his love of music.

Woman in Gold

Helen Mirren shines in this remarkable true story of one woman's journey to reclaim her heritage. Sixty years after fleeing Austria during World War II, Maria Altmann (Mirren) hires inexperienced young lawyer Randy Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds) to help her retrieve family possessions seized by the Nazis, among them Klimt's famous painting 'The Lady in Gold'. Directed by Simon Curtis (My Week with Marilyn) and also starring Katie Holmes, Daniel Brühl, Charles Dance, Elizabeth McGovern, and Jonathan Pryce.

Wednesday, April 1

Wild Tales

"Deserves to become a serious art-house hit in the U.S. thanks to its skill in deftly overcoming the form’s usual deficits, for a result that feels as amazingly cohesive as it is relentlessly clever and entertaining." (Godfrey Cheshire, RogerEbert.com)

Academy Award Nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. Six wickedly funny stories about ordinary people pushed over the thin line that divides civilization and barbarism.

La Sapienza

"The movie is an unapologetically rarefied undertaking and at the same time a gracious and inviting film. And it embodies an elegant and melancholy paradox: What looks like tourism is really the pursuit of truth and beauty, and vice versa." (A.O. Scott, NY Times)

La Sapienza echoes Rossellini's Viaggio in Italia in its tale of Alexandre Schmidt (Fabrizio Rongione), a brilliant architect who, plagued by doubts and loss of inspiration, embarks on a quest of artistic and spiritual renewal guided by his study of Borromini. His wife Aliénor (Christelle Prot), similarly troubled by the crassness of contemporary society, decides to accompany him. In Stresa, a chance encounter upends the couple's plans with a series of life-altering revelations.

3 Hearts

One night in provincial France, Marc (Benoît Poelvoorde) meets Sylvie (Charlotte Gainsbourg) after missing his train back to Paris. Instantly drawn to one another, they wander through the streets until morning. But when Sylvie reunites with her ex and leaves France, Marc falls in love and marries. What neither knows is that Marc’s new bride is Sylvie’s sister. Upon Sylvie’s return to France, the spark between her and Marc is reignited in ways that will forever alter the relationships between sister to sister and husband to wife.

Seymour: An Introduction

"In his calm defense of beauty, craftsmanship, intellectual curiosity and emotional connection as vital human needs, this is one artist who knows he doesn't have to raise his voice to speak volumes.: (Justin Chang, Variety)

Ethan Hawke's gentle, meditative film is a love letter to the study of music and the patience, concentration, and devotion that are fundamental to the practice of art. The film allows us to spend time with a generous human being who has found balance and harmony through his love of music.

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Now that the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the Elderly and Beautiful has only a single remaining vacancy, Sonny (Dev Patel) must figure out how to accommodate guests (including Richard Gere) as they arrive. His own imminent wedding and the blossom- ing relationships all around also raise a host of questions—and perhaps the only one who may know the answers is the new co-manager of the hotel, Muriel (Maggie Smith), the keeper of everyone's secrets.

Exhibition

A childless couple identified only as D (punk rocker Viv Albertine) and H (Liam Gillick)—she, a performance artist, and he, seemingly an architect—live and work in a sleek modernist house in London. H wants to sell, and D reluctantly gives in, protesting that the rooms hold the memories and creative aspirations of 20 years together. Gradually, the spectator becomes voyeur, and the house warps into exhibition space for the couple’s erotic, strangely sterile, interactions.

Members of the Katonah Museum of Art, Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Hudson River Museum, and Neuberger Museum: Bring your membership card and receive the JBFC member discount for one ticket to this program.

Thursday, April 2

3 Hearts

One night in provincial France, Marc (Benoît Poelvoorde) meets Sylvie (Charlotte Gainsbourg) after missing his train back to Paris. Instantly drawn to one another, they wander through the streets until morning. But when Sylvie reunites with her ex and leaves France, Marc falls in love and marries. What neither knows is that Marc’s new bride is Sylvie’s sister. Upon Sylvie’s return to France, the spark between her and Marc is reignited in ways that will forever alter the relationships between sister to sister and husband to wife.

Seymour: An Introduction

"In his calm defense of beauty, craftsmanship, intellectual curiosity and emotional connection as vital human needs, this is one artist who knows he doesn't have to raise his voice to speak volumes.: (Justin Chang, Variety)

Ethan Hawke's gentle, meditative film is a love letter to the study of music and the patience, concentration, and devotion that are fundamental to the practice of art. The film allows us to spend time with a generous human being who has found balance and harmony through his love of music.

La Sapienza

"The movie is an unapologetically rarefied undertaking and at the same time a gracious and inviting film. And it embodies an elegant and melancholy paradox: What looks like tourism is really the pursuit of truth and beauty, and vice versa." (A.O. Scott, NY Times)

La Sapienza echoes Rossellini's Viaggio in Italia in its tale of Alexandre Schmidt (Fabrizio Rongione), a brilliant architect who, plagued by doubts and loss of inspiration, embarks on a quest of artistic and spiritual renewal guided by his study of Borromini. His wife Aliénor (Christelle Prot), similarly troubled by the crassness of contemporary society, decides to accompany him. In Stresa, a chance encounter upends the couple's plans with a series of life-altering revelations.

Wild Tales

"Deserves to become a serious art-house hit in the U.S. thanks to its skill in deftly overcoming the form’s usual deficits, for a result that feels as amazingly cohesive as it is relentlessly clever and entertaining." (Godfrey Cheshire, RogerEbert.com)

Academy Award Nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. Six wickedly funny stories about ordinary people pushed over the thin line that divides civilization and barbarism.

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Now that the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the Elderly and Beautiful has only a single remaining vacancy, Sonny (Dev Patel) must figure out how to accommodate guests (including Richard Gere) as they arrive. His own imminent wedding and the blossom- ing relationships all around also raise a host of questions—and perhaps the only one who may know the answers is the new co-manager of the hotel, Muriel (Maggie Smith), the keeper of everyone's secrets.

Snowpiercer

"Politically provocative and visually spectacular-- the best action film of 2014, and probably the best film, period." (Salon)

A postapocalyptic ice age forces the last humans on earth aboard a supertrain zooming around the world in endless loops. Each car is different—in the back it’s a slum, but an aquarium, a nightclub, and a sushi bar are up front—and there’s no shifting around. With a whiny Tilda Swinton as the Minister (“I am the head”), and an epic Chris Evans (“You are the foot. It’s preordained”) as the revolutionary leader, this big-budget production, Bong’s first in English, was a massive critical and commercial success.

Levitated Mass: The Story of Michael Heizer's Monolithic Sculpture

After years of waiting for the right piece of granite to come along, artist Michael Heizer selects a 340- ton boulder from a desert quarry for his Levitated Mass installation at the LA County Museum of Art. But how to haul it the 105 miles to the heart of the city? Locals flock to see the colossal rock, trussed to a specially built trailer, as it lumbers through 21 towns along its route. For some, the sight is a marvel, for others, sheer folly. All ponder the essential question: "Is this art?"

Members of the Katonah Museum of Art, Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Hudson River Museum, and Neuberger Museum: Bring your membership card and receive the JBFC member discount for one ticket to this program.

Saturday, April 4

The Boy and the World

With lively rhythms and vibrant colors, The Boy and the World follows a boy on his journey from the Brazilian countryside into a neon-infused city. No real dialogue? No problem: It’s all about the animation, which, in the words of one festival judge, is responsible for “some of the most beautiful images we've ever seen."

Tickets: $7 (members), $12 (nonmembers), $7.50 (children under 12)

JBFC Family Members - use your Family comp passes at the box office for this event!

Starry Eyes

“If David Lynch and David Cronenberg came together to craft a psychological mindbender, it might be Starry Eyes.” (Time)

A young, ambitious actress is willing to do almost anything to land a leading role in Hollywood—and pays the price. This occult tale about the cost of fame is one of the most buzzed-about horror-thrillers of recent months.

Sunday, April 5

The Boy and the World

With lively rhythms and vibrant colors, The Boy and the World follows a boy on his journey from the Brazilian countryside into a neon-infused city. No real dialogue? No problem: It’s all about the animation, which, in the words of one festival judge, is responsible for “some of the most beautiful images we've ever seen."

Tickets: $7 (members), $12 (nonmembers), $7.50 (children under 12)

JBFC Family Members - use your Family comp passes at the box office for this event!

Monday, April 6

Museum Hours

In this beguiling and original feature, film- camera to linger exquisitely on works in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, picking out details in tales illustrated by Brueghel, Rembrandt, and other Dutch and Flemish masters. The galleries serve as sumptuous backdrop for the story of a museum guard and a visiting Canadian woman who strike up a friendship illuminated by the art and urban splendor that surround them.

Members of the Katonah Museum of Art, Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Hudson River Museum, and Neuberger Museum: Bring your membership card and receive the JBFC member discount for one ticket to this program.

Tuesday, April 7

Film Studies Course

FILMS IN FOCUS: WJFF 2015 (College and Adult) Dig deeper into the Westchester Jewish Film Festival with this new mini-course. Each session includes a screening of a festival film and thought-provoking discussion on topics including Israeli culture, propaganda, and Jewish identity.

Fifi Howls from Happiness

“A portrait of the artist as a refusenik, a recluse, a survivor, and a stubborn question mark.” (New York Times)

Iranian master Bahman Mohassess, revered by artists as the "Persian Picasso" and reviled by Tehran, is a near-recluse in Rome, where he creates politically charged work without fear of censorship. The many sides of his extravagant personality are captured in this observant documentary—an inexplicable compulsion to destroy his own art, his attraction to the forbidden, a reckless love of cigarettes, and, at age 80, his rage against the dying of the light.

Members of the Katonah Museum of Art, Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Hudson River Museum, and Neuberger Museum: Bring your membership card and receive the JBFC member discount for one ticket to this program.

Wednesday, April 8

Phoenix

We’re fortunate to kick off the festival with a special preview of this rich Hitchcockian tale by the German director of the acclaimed Barbara. With spectacular acting, cinematography, and production design, it unfolds around a disfigured concentration-camp survivor (Nina Hoss) who undergoes facial reconstruction surgery after the war. Now unrecognizable and presumed dead, she searches ravaged postwar Berlin for her beloved husband while plagued by terrible rumors about the person who betrayed her to the Nazis.

Thursday, April 9

A Place in Heaven

A haunting, lyrical drama by JBFC favorite Yossi Madmony (Restoration). It’s the story of a nonbelieving Israeli officer who returns to his base after a daring mission and is so hungry that he signs a contract transferring his guaranteed place in heaven to the cook, a religious Holocaust survivor. Four decades later, the officer, now a retired general, is on his deathbed, and his religious son races to nullify the contract.

Famous Nathan

Filmmaker Lloyd Handwerker has created a dynamic documentary portrait of Nathan’s Famous, the legendary Coney Island eatery his grandparents, Nathan and Ida Handwerker, founded in 1916. Exceptionally artful and layered, Famous Nathan interweaves family photos, home movies, an eclectic soundtrack, the voices of wisecracking workers, and never-before-heard audio from Nathan himself to convey the hustle-bustle of the Brooklyn institution.

Blumenthal

Witty and urbane, Blumenthal paints the portrait of one Upper West Side family in all its glorious dysfunction. After the untimely death of his famous playwright brother, Harold Blumenthal, Saul (Mark Blum) and his family struggle to come to terms with the man and the crippling shadow his success cast over their lives. A meditation on learning to let go and live in the moment, Blumenthal is a sophisticated comedy with emotional resonance.

Q&A April 9, 7:30: Actor Mark Blum with JBFC Executive Director Edie Demas. Obie winner Mark Blum is a film and Broadway actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is on the faculty of HB Studio and Brooklyn College, and will be featured in the film How He Fell in Love later this year.

Friday, April 10

The Decent One

After WWII, Heinrich Himmler’s private letters, diaries, and photographs were recovered by US troops. Using these materials to expose the ideas, plans, and secrets of the SS commander, this chilling documentary reveals the inner workings of the mind of the man who, in the middle of the Holocaust, wrote home: “Despite all the work, I am doing fine and I sleep well.” An unprecedented historical memoir with a very original approach.

Anywhere Else

What does it mean to belong to a community? Ester Amrami’s prize-winning first feature about an Israeli grad student in Berlin is a wildly clever tale of family, home, and being lost in translation—and of the power of ultimately finding your place somewhere in between. As an Israeli in Berlin herself, Amrami knows whereof she speaks.

Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem

In this powerhouse courtroom drama, an Israeli woman seeking to finalize a divorce from her estranged husband finds herself effectively put on trial by the country’s religious marriage laws. Exposing the inequality and dysfunction enshrined by the archaic practice of the gett, and with a powerful performance by codirector Ronit Elkabetz (The Band’s Visit, The Flood), this was the official Israeli submission for this year’s Oscars.

A Place in Heaven

A haunting, lyrical drama by JBFC favorite Yossi Madmony (Restoration). It’s the story of a nonbelieving Israeli officer who returns to his base after a daring mission and is so hungry that he signs a contract transferring his guaranteed place in heaven to the cook, a religious Holocaust survivor. Four decades later, the officer, now a retired general, is on his deathbed, and his religious son races to nullify the contract.

Saturday, April 11

Belle and Sebastian

Family Program! Based on a hugely popular French TV series, this is the thrilling story of an orphan boy and his dog who live a wonderfully free life in a stupendously scenic village near the Swiss border. While the locals help foil a Nazi effort to capture French resistance fighters, they are plagued by a mysterious beast that preys on their sheep and the shepherds themselves. An exciting adventure for adults and older kids (please note there are subtitles).

Tickets: $7 (members), $12 (nonmembers), $7.50 (children under 12)

JBFC Family Members - use your Family comp passes at the box office for this event!

The Decent One

After WWII, Heinrich Himmler’s private letters, diaries, and photographs were recovered by US troops. Using these materials to expose the ideas, plans, and secrets of the SS commander, this chilling documentary reveals the inner workings of the mind of the man who, in the middle of the Holocaust, wrote home: “Despite all the work, I am doing fine and I sleep well.” An unprecedented historical memoir with a very original approach.

The Farewell Party

To help a terminally ill friend, a group at a Jerusalem retirement home builds him a machine for self-euthanasia. When rumors of its existence begin to spread, more and more people ask for help, and the friends are faced with an emotional dilemma. This gentle, unexpected dark comedy about knowing when to say goodbye was a huge hit at both the Venice and Toronto film festivals.

Rue Mandar

Take a traditional Jewish funeral whose rituals no one can quite recall, add an ensemble cast of dysfunctional siblings and spouses, and what you get is this charming French film about the aftermath of a beloved mother’s death. Amid the squabbling about what to do about her now vacant (and very desirable) Paris apartment, an unusual chance for self-discovery and new beginnings emerges.

Victor "Young" Perez

This well-acted drama is based on the incredible true story of Victor “Young” Perez, a Tunisian Jewish boxer who became the World Flyweight Champion in 1931 and 1932. His romance with a glamorous French actress sealed his celebrity status. And it all came crashing down in 1943, when Perez was arrested and transported to Auschwitz, where he was forced to box for the amusement of his Nazi captors.

Sunday, April 12

Watchers of the Sky

Asking why the killing of a million was a lesser crime than the killing of an individual, Raphael Lemkin coined the term genocide and changed the course of history. This Sundance award-winning documentary both examines the work of the Polish-Jewish lawyer and linguist who set the stage for the creation of the International Criminal Court and tells the story of four individuals working today to keep his legacy alive.

Phoenix

We’re fortunate to kick off the festival with a special preview of this rich Hitchcockian tale by the German director of the acclaimed Barbara. With spectacular acting, cinematography, and production design, it unfolds around a disfigured concentration-camp survivor (Nina Hoss) who undergoes facial reconstruction surgery after the war. Now unrecognizable and presumed dead, she searches ravaged postwar Berlin for her beloved husband while plagued by terrible rumors about the person who betrayed her to the Nazis.

Deli Man

Laugh your way through hilarious stories of American delicatessens while drooling over the wonderful Jewish food being prepared before your eyes in delis from New York to Chicago to San Francisco, and even Texas. Erik Greenberg Anjou (A Cantor’s Tale, The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground) includes Ben’s Kosher Deli, a New York institution celebrating the opening of its newest location (in Scarsdale) in the final film of his delightful trilogy about Jewish culture.

Secrets of War

While conflict rages across Europe and the Nazis have occupied their country, not much has changed for two 12-year-old Dutch boys. But when a new girl arrives in their school and reveals a very personal secret, the realities of the wider world come into focus, and all three of their lives are changed forever. This very moving, well-made war drama has been a huge hit in the Netherlands.

Monday, April 13

Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem

In this powerhouse courtroom drama, an Israeli woman seeking to finalize a divorce from her estranged husband finds herself effectively put on trial by the country’s religious marriage laws. Exposing the inequality and dysfunction enshrined by the archaic practice of the gett, and with a powerful performance by codirector Ronit Elkabetz (The Band’s Visit, The Flood), this was the official Israeli submission for this year’s Oscars.

The Farewell Party

To help a terminally ill friend, a group at a Jerusalem retirement home builds him a machine for self-euthanasia. When rumors of its existence begin to spread, more and more people ask for help, and the friends are faced with an emotional dilemma. This gentle, unexpected dark comedy about knowing when to say goodbye was a huge hit at both the Venice and Toronto film festivals.

The Last Mentsch

A provocative meditation on the making and meaning of Jewish identity, The Last Mentsch follows Auschwitz survivor Marcus Schwartz, a self-described “normal” German with no Jewish ties, who as an old man suddenly realizes that he wishes to be buried in a Jewish cemetery. For proof of the heritage he’s spent a lifetime denying, he must return to his hometown in Hungary and dig up evidence of his birth.

Q&A April 13, 7:30: Arie Bucheister and Rabbi Andrew Baker with RECEPTION. Arie Bucheister is Chief of Staff of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. Rabbi Andrew Baker is AJC’s Director of International Jewish Affairs.

Tuesday, April 14

Rue Mandar

Take a traditional Jewish funeral whose rituals no one can quite recall, add an ensemble cast of dysfunctional siblings and spouses, and what you get is this charming French film about the aftermath of a beloved mother’s death. Amid the squabbling about what to do about her now vacant (and very desirable) Paris apartment, an unusual chance for self-discovery and new beginnings emerges.

Beneath the Helmet: From High School to the Home Front

A coming-of-age documentary that follows the journey of five Israeli high school graduates who are drafted into the army. Away from their homes, families, and friends, these 18-year-olds undergo a demanding and inspiring journey at boot camp.

Zero Motivation

Fresh from its sold-out run at Film Forum, Zero Motivation is a gem—a brash and intelligent take on Israeli milita- rism and women’s equality that displays equal amounts of humor and gravitas. A modern M.A.S.H. in the Negev, it follows a group of female recruits as they struggle to cope with tedium and the need to forge identities in a society that at once discounts and depends on them. Starring Dana Ivgy (Or, Jaffa, Broken Wings). The breakout hit of the 2014 festival circuit!

Q&A APRIL 14, 7:45: writer/director Stuart Weinstock, programmer at the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies and adjunct faculty, Columbia University, with Dean Movshovitz, Director of Film & Media, Consulate General of Israel Office of Cultural Affairs

Wednesday, April 15

Deli Man

Laugh your way through hilarious stories of American delicatessens while drooling over the wonderful Jewish food being prepared before your eyes in delis from New York to Chicago to San Francisco, and even Texas. Erik Greenberg Anjou (A Cantor’s Tale, The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground) includes Ben’s Kosher Deli, a New York institution celebrating the opening of its newest location (in Scarsdale) in the final film of his delightful trilogy about Jewish culture.

Secrets of War

While conflict rages across Europe and the Nazis have occupied their country, not much has changed for two 12-year-old Dutch boys. But when a new girl arrives in their school and reveals a very personal secret, the realities of the wider world come into focus, and all three of their lives are changed forever. This very moving, well-made war drama has been a huge hit in the Netherlands.

Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem

A pioneer of Jewish literature who championed and luxuriated in the Yiddish language, Sholom Aleichem created dozens of characters for whom humor and pathos always coexisted. And if Tevye the Milkman is the best known, it’s in good part due to Theodore Bikel, who has played the character on stage more than 2000 times—as well as countless other roles on stage and screen. This enchanting documentary recounts the stories of both of these Jewish icons.

April 15, 7:30 FILM and LIVE MUSIC by the Aaron Alexander Klezmer Trio. Aaron Alexander appears in the film in performance with Theo Bikel, and is founder of the New York Klezmer Series and has been playing klezmer music for almost 25 years.The Trio musicians include Aaron Alexander on drums and fiddle, Michael Winograd on clarinet, Christina Crowder on accordion, and Deborah Strauss on fiddle.

Thursday, April 16

NT Live: The Hard Problem

LIVE FROM LONDON. The Hard Problem is Tom Stoppard’s first play for the stage since Rock ’n’ Roll in 2006, and his first for the National since his trilogy,The Coast of Utopia, 2002.

Hilary, a young psychology researcher at a brain-science institute, is nursing a private sorrow and a troubling question at work, where psychology and biology meet. If there is nothing but matter, what is consciousness?This is ‘the hard problem’ which puts Hilary at odds with her colleagues who include her first mentor Spike, her boss Leo and the billionaire founder of the institute, Jerry. Is the day coming when the computer and the MRI scanner will answer all the questions psychology can ask?

The Farewell Party

To help a terminally ill friend, a group at a Jerusalem retirement home builds him a machine for self-euthanasia. When rumors of its existence begin to spread, more and more people ask for help, and the friends are faced with an emotional dilemma. This gentle, unexpected dark comedy about knowing when to say goodbye was a huge hit at both the Venice and Toronto film festivals.

Bialik: King of the Jews

With gorgeous animation embellished by the haunting vocals of Ninet Tayeb, Bialik: King of the Jews is an engaging exploration of Israel’s national poet and icon Chaim Nachman Bialik. Featuring scholarly interviews, rare archival footage, photographs, and lively animations of Bialik’s ingenious prose, this is an innovative andinspiring must-see.

The Outrageous Sophie Tucker

Sophie Tucker enchanted her audiences with her bold, bawdy, and brassy style. This fun and loving portrait uses the Last of the Red Hot Mama’s 400-plus personal scrapbooks to retrace her 60-year showbiz career. The movie has everything: the blues-infused songs, sexual innuendo, infectious charisma, and irreverent humor that catapulted Tucker to stardom.

Friday, April 17

Rue Mandar

Take a traditional Jewish funeral whose rituals no one can quite recall, add an ensemble cast of dysfunctional siblings and spouses, and what you get is this charming French film about the aftermath of a beloved mother’s death. Amid the squabbling about what to do about her now vacant (and very desirable) Paris apartment, an unusual chance for self-discovery and new beginnings emerges.

The Last Mentsch

A provocative meditation on the making and meaning of Jewish identity, The Last Mentsch follows Auschwitz survivor Marcus Schwartz, a self-described “normal” German with no Jewish ties, who as an old man suddenly realizes that he wishes to be buried in a Jewish cemetery. For proof of the heritage he’s spent a lifetime denying, he must return to his hometown in Hungary and dig up evidence of his birth.

Q&A April 13, 7:30: Arie Bucheister and Rabbi Andrew Baker with RECEPTION. Arie Bucheister is Chief of Staff of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. Rabbi Andrew Baker is AJC’s Director of International Jewish Affairs.

Anywhere Else

What does it mean to belong to a community? Ester Amrami’s prize-winning first feature about an Israeli grad student in Berlin is a wildly clever tale of family, home, and being lost in translation—and of the power of ultimately finding your place somewhere in between. As an Israeli in Berlin herself, Amrami knows whereof she speaks.

The Art Dealer

This exciting narrative mystery from renowned French director François Margolin (The Flight of the Red Balloon) explores the ravaged remains of Jewish identity and connections in a disjointed family of Holocaust survivors in contemporary France. The plot follows a Jewish woman searching for family paintings that were stolen by the Nazis and unearthing some secrets that may have been better left hidden.

Famous Nathan

Filmmaker Lloyd Handwerker has created a dynamic documentary portrait of Nathan’s Famous, the legendary Coney Island eatery his grandparents, Nathan and Ida Handwerker, founded in 1916. Exceptionally artful and layered, Famous Nathan interweaves family photos, home movies, an eclectic soundtrack, the voices of wisecracking workers, and never-before-heard audio from Nathan himself to convey the hustle-bustle of the Brooklyn institution.

Saturday, April 18

A Place in Heaven

A haunting, lyrical drama by JBFC favorite Yossi Madmony (Restoration). It’s the story of a nonbelieving Israeli officer who returns to his base after a daring mission and is so hungry that he signs a contract transferring his guaranteed place in heaven to the cook, a religious Holocaust survivor. Four decades later, the officer, now a retired general, is on his deathbed, and his religious son races to nullify the contract.

Magic Men

A journey of remembering and reclamation, Magic Men tells the emotional and at times comical story of Avraham’s mission to find the man who saved his life during WWII. As he travels through his native Greece with an unlikely companion, and his son on his heels, Avraham’s search becomes a quest to heal the wounds of his past and thus restore his present relationships. A moving and memorable tale about the everlasting bonds of love in all its varied forms.

The Outrageous Sophie Tucker

Sophie Tucker enchanted her audiences with her bold, bawdy, and brassy style. This fun and loving portrait uses the Last of the Red Hot Mama’s 400-plus personal scrapbooks to retrace her 60-year showbiz career. The movie has everything: the blues-infused songs, sexual innuendo, infectious charisma, and irreverent humor that catapulted Tucker to stardom.

Let's Go

Based on an autobiographical novel, Let’s Go! is the paradigm of a second- generation Holocaust story. Veteran director Michael Verhoeven (The Nasty Girl) tells the story of Laura, living in 1960s Germany, and her distant, strained relationship with her parents. This dynamic, well-acted drama sensitively explores trauma and its crippling effects on survivors.

Zero Motivation

Fresh from its sold-out run at Film Forum, Zero Motivation is a gem—a brash and intelligent take on Israeli milita- rism and women’s equality that displays equal amounts of humor and gravitas. A modern M.A.S.H. in the Negev, it follows a group of female recruits as they struggle to cope with tedium and the need to forge identities in a society that at once discounts and depends on them. Starring Dana Ivgy (Or, Jaffa, Broken Wings). The breakout hit of the 2014 festival circuit!

Q&A APRIL 14, 7:45: writer/director Stuart Weinstock, programmer at the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies and adjunct faculty, Columbia University, with Dean Movshovitz, Director of Film & Media, Consulate General of Israel Office of Cultural Affairs

Sunday, April 19

Belle and Sebastian

Family Program! Based on a hugely popular French TV series, this is the thrilling story of an orphan boy and his dog who live a wonderfully free life in a stupendously scenic village near the Swiss border. While the locals help foil a Nazi effort to capture French resistance fighters, they are plagued by a mysterious beast that preys on their sheep and the shepherds themselves. An exciting adventure for adults and older kids (please note there are subtitles).

Tickets: $7 (members), $12 (nonmembers), $7.50 (children under 12)

JBFC Family Members - use your Family comp passes at the box office for this event!

Bialik: King of the Jews

With gorgeous animation embellished by the haunting vocals of Ninet Tayeb, Bialik: King of the Jews is an engaging exploration of Israel’s national poet and icon Chaim Nachman Bialik. Featuring scholarly interviews, rare archival footage, photographs, and lively animations of Bialik’s ingenious prose, this is an innovative andinspiring must-see.

Touchdown Israel

Here’s the improbable story of the IFL, an American-style football league that’s thriving in a most unexpected place. Tracking a season, this lively documentary reveals in microcosm the patchwork quilt of Israeli society as Jews, Muslims, and Christians— many new to the sport—suit up, compete, and build friendships on a quest for Israel Bowl glory. April 19, 5:00 Q&A Jay Fiedler and Alex Swieca with Don Sperling.

Jay Fiedler’s 10-year NFL career as a quarterback included playing for the Miami Dolphins and the NY Jets. He was inducted into the National Jewish Museum Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. Alex Swieca was MVP for the Israel Bowl Champions Judean Rebels and is now a senior at Michigan where he was quarterback for the Wolverine’s Sugar Bowl winning 2011 season. Don Sperling is VP and Executive Producer for New York Giants Entertainment.

Victor "Young" Perez

This well-acted drama is based on the incredible true story of Victor “Young” Perez, a Tunisian Jewish boxer who became the World Flyweight Champion in 1931 and 1932. His romance with a glamorous French actress sealed his celebrity status. And it all came crashing down in 1943, when Perez was arrested and transported to Auschwitz, where he was forced to box for the amusement of his Nazi captors.

Monday, April 20

Secrets of War

While conflict rages across Europe and the Nazis have occupied their country, not much has changed for two 12-year-old Dutch boys. But when a new girl arrives in their school and reveals a very personal secret, the realities of the wider world come into focus, and all three of their lives are changed forever. This very moving, well-made war drama has been a huge hit in the Netherlands.

Magic Men

A journey of remembering and reclamation, Magic Men tells the emotional and at times comical story of Avraham’s mission to find the man who saved his life during WWII. As he travels through his native Greece with an unlikely companion, and his son on his heels, Avraham’s search becomes a quest to heal the wounds of his past and thus restore his present relationships. A moving and memorable tale about the everlasting bonds of love in all its varied forms.

Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem

In this powerhouse courtroom drama, an Israeli woman seeking to finalize a divorce from her estranged husband finds herself effectively put on trial by the country’s religious marriage laws. Exposing the inequality and dysfunction enshrined by the archaic practice of the gett, and with a powerful performance by codirector Ronit Elkabetz (The Band’s Visit, The Flood), this was the official Israeli submission for this year’s Oscars.

The Jewish Cardinal

The son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, Jean- Marie Lustiger converted to Catholicism, joined the priesthood, and was appointed Archbishop of Paris by Pope Jean Paul II. When a group of nuns sought to build a chapel within Auschwitz in the 1980s, he was pulled into the middle of a conflict between Jews and Catholics. This stirring portrait explores the tension between the identity we are born with and the one we choose.

Tuesday, April 21

The Outrageous Sophie Tucker

Sophie Tucker enchanted her audiences with her bold, bawdy, and brassy style. This fun and loving portrait uses the Last of the Red Hot Mama’s 400-plus personal scrapbooks to retrace her 60-year showbiz career. The movie has everything: the blues-infused songs, sexual innuendo, infectious charisma, and irreverent humor that catapulted Tucker to stardom.

ROH: Swan Lake

Anthony Dowell's production of the greatest romantic ballet draws upon the opulence of 1890s Russia. Prince Siegfried chances upon a flock of swans while out hunting. When one of the swans turns into a beautiful woman, Odette, he is instantly captivated and determines to break the spell that holds her captive. The performance lasts about three hours, including two intermissions.

Anywhere Else

What does it mean to belong to a community? Ester Amrami’s prize-winning first feature about an Israeli grad student in Berlin is a wildly clever tale of family, home, and being lost in translation—and of the power of ultimately finding your place somewhere in between. As an Israeli in Berlin herself, Amrami knows whereof she speaks.

The Art Dealer

This exciting narrative mystery from renowned French director François Margolin (The Flight of the Red Balloon) explores the ravaged remains of Jewish identity and connections in a disjointed family of Holocaust survivors in contemporary France. The plot follows a Jewish woman searching for family paintings that were stolen by the Nazis and unearthing some secrets that may have been better left hidden.

Felix and Meira

In this tender, lovely drama, an unhappy Hasidic wife and mother meets a secular loner mourning the death of his father in a bakery in Montreal’s Mile End district. Despite their vastly different backgrounds, the two find a connection. As mutual affection subtlely shades into romance, the young woman faces a tough choice that calls her very identity into question.

April 21, 7:30 DISCUSSION and BOOK SALE: Explore the expanding world of American Hasidim with The Jewish Week Editor/Publisher Gary Rosenblatt, author of Between the Lines, and New York Times writer Joseph Berger, author of The Pious Ones: The World of Hasidimand their Battles with America. A book sale and signing will follow.

Wednesday, April 22

Belle and Sebastian

Family Program! Based on a hugely popular French TV series, this is the thrilling story of an orphan boy and his dog who live a wonderfully free life in a stupendously scenic village near the Swiss border. While the locals help foil a Nazi effort to capture French resistance fighters, they are plagued by a mysterious beast that preys on their sheep and the shepherds themselves. An exciting adventure for adults and older kids (please note there are subtitles).

Tickets: $7 (members), $12 (nonmembers), $7.50 (children under 12)

JBFC Family Members - use your Family comp passes at the box office for this event!

Famous Nathan

Filmmaker Lloyd Handwerker has created a dynamic documentary portrait of Nathan’s Famous, the legendary Coney Island eatery his grandparents, Nathan and Ida Handwerker, founded in 1916. Exceptionally artful and layered, Famous Nathan interweaves family photos, home movies, an eclectic soundtrack, the voices of wisecracking workers, and never-before-heard audio from Nathan himself to convey the hustle-bustle of the Brooklyn institution.

Planetary

Special Earth Day Screening! Planetary presents a stunning visual portrait of our Earth, taking us on a journey across continents: from the African Savannah to the Himalayas, and from the heart of Tokyo to the view of our fragile planet from space. Through intimate interviews with NASA astronauts, environmentalists and philosophers the film shows that the solution to transforming our civilization lies in an understanding that all life is inseparably interconnected, and that we cannot transform our civilization unless we change the way we see ourselves, the world, and the wider cosmos we are embedded within.

This series is made possible through the generosity of the Hoch family and the van Hengel Family Fund.

Forbidden Films: The Hidden Legacy of Nazi Film

The Third Reich produced over 1200 feature films—more than 40 of which remain banned from public screening in Germany and elsewhere because of their incendiary content. Now, almost 70 years later, filmmaker Felix Moeller (Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Süss) shares an overview of this astonishing footage, and asks if it should become freely available and preserved. Or should this dark legacy be kept away from the public eye?

Thursday, April 23

Deli Man

Laugh your way through hilarious stories of American delicatessens while drooling over the wonderful Jewish food being prepared before your eyes in delis from New York to Chicago to San Francisco, and even Texas. Erik Greenberg Anjou (A Cantor’s Tale, The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground) includes Ben’s Kosher Deli, a New York institution celebrating the opening of its newest location (in Scarsdale) in the final film of his delightful trilogy about Jewish culture.

Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem

A pioneer of Jewish literature who championed and luxuriated in the Yiddish language, Sholom Aleichem created dozens of characters for whom humor and pathos always coexisted. And if Tevye the Milkman is the best known, it’s in good part due to Theodore Bikel, who has played the character on stage more than 2000 times—as well as countless other roles on stage and screen. This enchanting documentary recounts the stories of both of these Jewish icons.

April 15, 7:30 FILM and LIVE MUSIC by the Aaron Alexander Klezmer Trio. Aaron Alexander appears in the film in performance with Theo Bikel, and is founder of the New York Klezmer Series and has been playing klezmer music for almost 25 years.The Trio musicians include Aaron Alexander on drums and fiddle, Michael Winograd on clarinet, Christina Crowder on accordion, and Deborah Strauss on fiddle.

Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem

In this powerhouse courtroom drama, an Israeli woman seeking to finalize a divorce from her estranged husband finds herself effectively put on trial by the country’s religious marriage laws. Exposing the inequality and dysfunction enshrined by the archaic practice of the gett, and with a powerful performance by codirector Ronit Elkabetz (The Band’s Visit, The Flood), this was the official Israeli submission for this year’s Oscars.

Zero Motivation

Fresh from its sold-out run at Film Forum, Zero Motivation is a gem—a brash and intelligent take on Israeli milita- rism and women’s equality that displays equal amounts of humor and gravitas. A modern M.A.S.H. in the Negev, it follows a group of female recruits as they struggle to cope with tedium and the need to forge identities in a society that at once discounts and depends on them. Starring Dana Ivgy (Or, Jaffa, Broken Wings). The breakout hit of the 2014 festival circuit!

Q&A APRIL 14, 7:45: writer/director Stuart Weinstock, programmer at the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies and adjunct faculty, Columbia University, with Dean Movshovitz, Director of Film & Media, Consulate General of Israel Office of Cultural Affairs

Above and Beyond

The untold history of American WWII veterans who survived the battles over a genocidal Europe and again took to the air in 1948, this time in a clandestine campaign to save the nascent Jewish state. With seamless historical reenactments, archival footage, and original interviews, this harrowing tale is also a frank look at American Jewish identity and a poignant reminder of its interdependence with the fate and fortune of the Israeli state. Produced by Nancy Spielberg.

Q&A April 23, 7:30: Dr. Steven Bayme with JBFC Founder Steve Apkon with RECEPTION. Steven Bayme is Director of the Contemporary Jewish Life Department of AJC and of the Koppelman Institute on American Jewish-Israeli Relations.

Friday, April 24

The Art Dealer

This exciting narrative mystery from renowned French director François Margolin (The Flight of the Red Balloon) explores the ravaged remains of Jewish identity and connections in a disjointed family of Holocaust survivors in contemporary France. The plot follows a Jewish woman searching for family paintings that were stolen by the Nazis and unearthing some secrets that may have been better left hidden.

Forbidden Films: The Hidden Legacy of Nazi Film

The Third Reich produced over 1200 feature films—more than 40 of which remain banned from public screening in Germany and elsewhere because of their incendiary content. Now, almost 70 years later, filmmaker Felix Moeller (Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Süss) shares an overview of this astonishing footage, and asks if it should become freely available and preserved. Or should this dark legacy be kept away from the public eye?

Transit

A moving and beautifully rendered portrait of the plight of the foreign worker in Israel today. Following the failures and fortunes of one Filipino family, Transit highlights their struggle to stay together and the unique challenges each individual faces as political and legal pressures mount. At its core, the film speaks to the predicament of displaced persons around the world whose only crime is yearning to live a better life.

The Go-Go Boys

In the 1980s two brash Israeli cousins turned the Hollywood power structure upside down, producing over 300 movies (mostly exploitation/action fare) as Cannon Films, the most powerful independent film company in the world for a time. This is a fond, nonstop examination of two irrepressible modern movie moguls with big personalities.

Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem

In this powerhouse courtroom drama, an Israeli woman seeking to finalize a divorce from her estranged husband finds herself effectively put on trial by the country’s religious marriage laws. Exposing the inequality and dysfunction enshrined by the archaic practice of the gett, and with a powerful performance by codirector Ronit Elkabetz (The Band’s Visit, The Flood), this was the official Israeli submission for this year’s Oscars.

Saturday, April 25

Above and Beyond

The untold history of American WWII veterans who survived the battles over a genocidal Europe and again took to the air in 1948, this time in a clandestine campaign to save the nascent Jewish state. With seamless historical reenactments, archival footage, and original interviews, this harrowing tale is also a frank look at American Jewish identity and a poignant reminder of its interdependence with the fate and fortune of the Israeli state. Produced by Nancy Spielberg.

Q&A April 23, 7:30: Dr. Steven Bayme with JBFC Founder Steve Apkon with RECEPTION. Steven Bayme is Director of the Contemporary Jewish Life Department of AJC and of the Koppelman Institute on American Jewish-Israeli Relations.

Touchdown Israel

Here’s the improbable story of the IFL, an American-style football league that’s thriving in a most unexpected place. Tracking a season, this lively documentary reveals in microcosm the patchwork quilt of Israeli society as Jews, Muslims, and Christians— many new to the sport—suit up, compete, and build friendships on a quest for Israel Bowl glory. April 19, 5:00 Q&A Jay Fiedler and Alex Swieca with Don Sperling.

Jay Fiedler’s 10-year NFL career as a quarterback included playing for the Miami Dolphins and the NY Jets. He was inducted into the National Jewish Museum Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. Alex Swieca was MVP for the Israel Bowl Champions Judean Rebels and is now a senior at Michigan where he was quarterback for the Wolverine’s Sugar Bowl winning 2011 season. Don Sperling is VP and Executive Producer for New York Giants Entertainment.

Felix and Meira

In this tender, lovely drama, an unhappy Hasidic wife and mother meets a secular loner mourning the death of his father in a bakery in Montreal’s Mile End district. Despite their vastly different backgrounds, the two find a connection. As mutual affection subtlely shades into romance, the young woman faces a tough choice that calls her very identity into question.

April 21, 7:30 DISCUSSION and BOOK SALE: Explore the expanding world of American Hasidim with The Jewish Week Editor/Publisher Gary Rosenblatt, author of Between the Lines, and New York Times writer Joseph Berger, author of The Pious Ones: The World of Hasidimand their Battles with America. A book sale and signing will follow.

The Last Sentence

Beautifully filmed in black and white, The Last Sentence is an absorbing, highly regarded biopic about crusading Swedish journalist Torgny Segerstedt (Danish star Jesper Christensen, Nymphomaniac: Volume 1). It highlights the brave journalist’s one-man battle against Nazism and his country’s policy of appeasement, as well as the scandalous turn his life took when he had an affair with the Jewish wife of a close friend.

Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem

A pioneer of Jewish literature who championed and luxuriated in the Yiddish language, Sholom Aleichem created dozens of characters for whom humor and pathos always coexisted. And if Tevye the Milkman is the best known, it’s in good part due to Theodore Bikel, who has played the character on stage more than 2000 times—as well as countless other roles on stage and screen. This enchanting documentary recounts the stories of both of these Jewish icons.

April 15, 7:30 FILM and LIVE MUSIC by the Aaron Alexander Klezmer Trio. Aaron Alexander appears in the film in performance with Theo Bikel, and is founder of the New York Klezmer Series and has been playing klezmer music for almost 25 years.The Trio musicians include Aaron Alexander on drums and fiddle, Michael Winograd on clarinet, Christina Crowder on accordion, and Deborah Strauss on fiddle.